Wolfgang Laib

Since the opening of De Pont in September 1992, Wolfgang Laib’s Wachsraum has been part of the museum’s permanent installation. In 1993 the museum held the first retrospective exhibition of his work in the Netherlands; here the artist also showed, for the first time, several works on paper. For a number of years now, Laib has been presenting his photographic work as well. Drawings and photographs provide fascinating insight on the background of his work and reveal his particular concern for traditional Indian architecture and rituals. Together with the Kunstmuseum Bonn, De Pont has now organized a large retrospective of this special segment of his oeuvre. More than 120 works on paper have been selected for display. The exhibition will be accompanied by an extensive publication, containing essays by Christoph Schreier and Klaus Ottmann.

Wolfgang Laib (Metzingen 1950) gained a reputation by way of his sculptures and installations that consist of natural materials; due to the intense color and smell of these materials, the works offer a strong sensory experience. Wachsraum (1992), for instance, is a narrow corridor whose walls are made of pure beeswax. The honey-colored slabs glow beneath a single lightbulb hanging in the space, and the sweet perfume of the beeswax is overwhelming. Blütenstaub von Kiefern (1993) consists of a radiant yellow field of pure pine pollen that has been scattered on the floor. For other works Laib has used soft and perishable materials, such as milk and rice, in combination with harder substances, such as metals and marble. Each time he opts for materials with a certain intensity. This has not only to do with their color and substance, but also with their intrinsic quality as a source of vital energy. The respect for this vital energy seems to be one of the essential aspects of his work. In the collection catalogue of De Pont, it is described as follows: “Despite their fragility, the works of Laib possess a timeless and enduring quality. They allude to the beauty and preciousness of things that are simply there and, at the same time, to the primary, unexcessive necessities of life. The rectangles of pure pollen, which he makes by sifting this onto the floor, seem to be a sheer celebration of the inconceivable intensity of the color. Simple tin bowls with small heaps of rice grain, placed in a row on the floor, suggest that the little which is needed for subsistance is abundantly present.” In contrast to the loftiness of his themes, his artistry has a modest and subdued nature.

Laib is fascinated by the Asian, in particular the Buddhist, concern and respect with which natural surroundings are observed and experienced. His interest in this already began when he made trips with his parents to India, but also to Islamic countries. Referring to the mosques, he says, “Empty spaces (...) not filled up with superfluous objects. A feeling for space, especially for the floor, which doesn’t even exist in European art.” But the Western mystical tradition and utopian art movements from the early part of the twentieth century are also echoed in his work.

Laib deliberately places himself beyond the hectic activity of modern life, not only through his many travels and his quiet way of living and working, but also through his regard for repetition and concentration as being more important aspects of his artistry than change and development. In his drawings this is expressed, for instance, in an austere language of forms by which he endeavors to portray the essence of his subjects. These are almost schematic, often rhythmically repeated, indications of the forms and objects that also play a role in his spatial work. The drawings are carried out in pencil and pastel chalk, in yellow or red. These colors are reminiscent of the glow of pollen and beeswax. Occasionally we can recognize animals, mountains, plates or bowls. Architectonic forms such as towers, domes and niches frequently constitute the point of departure for his drawings as well. Particularly the ‘ziggurat’ – the terraced pyramidal tower from ancient Middle Eastern cultures – can be found in many drawings. On his numerous trips throughout the Middle East and Southeast Asia, Laib photographed a great deal of architecture. The structures are often shrines, temples, commemorative stones and ritualistic sites whose forms of construction have been determined by age-old traditions. This archaic architecture serves as the basis for countless drawings of abstract shapes such as squares, triangles, arches and pyramidal forms. But these formal aspects are not, in themselves, the essence of Laib’s work. The simple forms undeniably have their own poetic beauty, but they are almost always framed by a thin pencil line which seems to order and systematize them. This diagrammatic form places the separate elements within a larger whole. It is as though the artist thereby expresses the awareness that everything is part of a greater order and different dimension of place and time. That way of seeing aims to make us conscious of the magical force of life contained in something as seemingly insignificant as pollen or rice. Laib recognizes the spirituality of this awareness in the offerings made at altars in India, where the gods are placated with incense, milk and flowers. This ritual celebration of life is also expressed in the work of Laib. Prime importance is given to the simplicity of material and form, yet in that simplicity lies an intense experience and spirituality – the richness of a cosmic order and a profound connection with nature.

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Wolfgang Laib
werk op papier, foto's